A new digital pregnancy education app, Dangudbila, is set to transform how maternity care information is delivered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women across the Top End.
Developed by Menzies School of Health Research in partnership with the Avant Foundation, Australian Preterm Birth Prevention Alliance and Monash University Action Lab, the app has been created with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from across the region, ensuring it reflects their voices, experiences, and needs.
The Dangudbila app was shaped from start to finish by extensive consultation and co-design. Initial Yarning Circles with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women highlighted significant gaps in antenatal education, and these insights drove a multi-year effort to secure funding before engaging the women again for the design process.
Recently launched at a special event on Larrakia Country in Darwin, the app brings together a range of content designed to support women throughout pregnancy, including animations in local languages, podcasts featuring Top End women and healthcare providers, as well as culturally designed resources.
Women can listen, watch, read and learn from other women's experiences in the app, at a time and location that is suitable for them. It works to make maternity healthcare safer, supporting self-determination and presenting pregnancy concepts in ways that are digestible, engaging, culturally relevant and safe, whilst also celebrating culture and strengths.
The information provided in the app aligns with health schedules in the Northern Territory, to support women to understand what they will be offered at each stage of their pregnancy journey, and shares insights and key questions to ask at these appointments.
Dangudbila is named, with permission from Senior Larrakia Elder and Chair of Menzies' Australian First Nations Reference Group for Child and Maternal Health, Dr Aunty Bilawara Lee, after the Larrakia word for Kangaroo and the marsupial trait of pausing embryo development until conditions are safe - a metaphor for safe, full-term birthing.
"This project was about rethinking how pregnancy education is delivered," said lead of Menzies Maternal Health Program, Menzies Principal Research Fellow, Father Frank Flynn Fellow and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Obstetrician, Associate Professor Kiarna Brown.
"By making an accessible, culturally safe, and co-designed app, we're helping ensure that every woman, no matter where she lives, has the information she needs to give her baby the best possible start to life," she said.
"Instead of information overload in a single appointment, women can return to it when it suits them.
"That helps them feel more informed, less overwhelmed, and more in control of their pregnancy journey and the decisions they make for themselves and their baby.
"Dangudbila will also support clinicians to have better, more meaningful conversations with women; helping bridge gaps in communication and strengthen culturally safe care."
"This going to revolutionise maternity education for women across the Top End."
Menzies Clinical research manager, Maternal Health Program, Jess Murray also commented on how the app is set to positively improve maternity care across the Top End.
"When we first sat down with women, we set out to understand their experiences of preterm birth. But what they told us was much broader," she said.
"They spoke about the lack of consistent, culturally appropriate pregnancy education, and how access depended on where they lived, and whether the information felt safe or relevant to them.
"We spent years working to secure the funding needed to go back to Top End women and involve them in designing something new. Something that truly reflected their needs."
Menzies is at the forefront of health and medical research dedicated to improving the lives of peoples across the Northern Territory, Asia Pacific and beyond.
By joining scientific knowledge with community wisdom, Menzies strives to Close the Gap, and shape a healthier, more equitable future where communities can thrive.
